(Updated 17 April) Please read below for how to join the online meeting. Meeting codes are now available.

A pre-application has been made to Rother District Council in relation to building 22 new homes on land at Glebe House. This site is just outside the village development boundary on the south side of the A265, after Rectory Close, travelling towards Etchingham.

Rother District Council suggested the developer contact the Parish Council regarding the inclusion of the site as a housing allocation in the Neighbourhood Plan. This site was previously considered and rejected by Rother District Council in the 2013 SHLAA (Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment).

The site was put forward in the Neighbourhood Plan call for sites in 2018 but no one representing the site attended the assessment meeting. That process has been completed.

The Parish Council have now received ‘concept’ drawings and an indicative layout. These are being made available to the public at this early stage. Click on the links below to view these documents. Update (17/4) presentation for Tuesday evening added below.

The Parish Council has the opportunity to formally assess the site and will evaluate it on merit.

Due to the coronavirus the Parish Council is not meeting in person but by virtual meetings. The developer has agreed to attend an online meeting where there will be a presentationto committee of the plans and we can find out more about their ideas. This online meeting will take place on Tuesday 21st April at 6.30pm. The Agenda can be viewed here The pdf of the powerpoint presentation to be used on Tuesday evening can be viewed here or by clicking on the document links above.

Please can you remain muted to avoid background noise unless you need to say something at the allocated time. After the presentation of the Glebe House site proposed plans there will be opportunity for you to ask questions/ make comments. If you would like to speak at the allocated time we ask that you show your hand and wait for the Chair to acknowledge you before speaking. We ask that throughout the presentation everyone remain silent and muted to facilitate an efficient online meeting.

The meeting will be opened at 6.15pm to allow everyone to log on and then we shall begin at 6.30pm. Please make sure you are logged on and ready for 6.30pm so there are no delays.

The meeting will be used for fact finding with opportunity after the presentation for both councillors and public to ask questions. The intention is to organise a fully fledged consultation after lockdown when meetings have returned to normal.

If you have questions, comments or areas you wish to have explored please let us know. Please contact the Chair of the Planning Committee, Cllr Nick Moore at the following email address: cllr.nick.moore@burwashpc.org.uk

The Local Government Secretary, Robert Jenrick MP has announced today (Mar 24) the confirmation of a £500m Hardship Fund that will provide council tax relief to those most affected by coronavirus.

Vulnerable households who would otherwise struggle to pay council tax will be supported by the new package of funding announced today.

The Fund, announced in the Chancellor’s Budget, will be distributed to local authorities in England in order to reduce the 2020 to 2021 council tax bills of those currently receiving Local Council Tax Support.

Other support arrangements on a discretionary basis will be available for councils to utilise such as Local Welfare Schemes.

Local Government Secretary Rt Hon Robert Jenrick MP said:

“Providing the necessary financial support to people and families is critical at this difficult time when many people will be concerned about changes to their income.

“That’s why we’re giving local councils an additional £500 million, to ensure help is available for the most vulnerable people in our society who are struggling to pay their council tax bills.

“The government is on your side and will do whatever takes to help.”

This announcement comes after an additional £1.6bn in funding was announced to allow councils to respond to new coronavirus pressures surrounding their services.

This includes supporting the most vulnerable people in communities and those that may be unable to pay their council tax at this time.

Billing authorities will also want to establish their own local approach to using any remaining grant to assist those in need, as part of wider local support mechanisms. These may include:

For the rest of the week the surgery has had to restrict opening hours to the following times 8.30am to 12pm and 2pm to 5pm. The telephones will still be open for support of patients who are unwell. The need for those at high risk and over 70yrs to self-isolate means we have a very restricted team of staff. We are looking at drafting in some extra help and will review the situation at the end of the week. – Julie Watson, Practice Manager Fairfield Surgery Tel: 01435 882306

Do you need help? If you need help in picking up prescriptions or groceries, or simply need a friendly chat in what can be a very isolating time, please email parishclerk@burwashpc.org.uk or call the Parish Clerk on 07943 848 430. We have a group of volunteers who are available to help. If you can offer help please also get in contact with us. Read the leaflet sent to all residents across the community.

Monday 23rd March 2020 9.30pm

NEW CORONAVIRUS MEASURES ANNOUNCED

The Prime Minister announced stricter measures tonight. Please make sure you follow this advice strictly.

Below is a summary of PM Boris Johnson’s speech and taken from the BBC website:

From tonight people in Britain will be allowed to leave their homes for only “very limited purposes” – shopping for basic necessities; for one form of exercise a day; for any medical need; and to travel to and from work when “absolutely necessary”

People are warned not to meet friends or family members who they do not live with

Shopping is only permitted for essentials like food and medicine, and people are advised to do it “as little as you can”

Police have powers to enforce the rules, including through fines and dispersing gatherings

All shops selling non-essential goods, such as clothing and electronic stores, are ordered to close

Libraries, playgrounds, outdoor gyms and places of worship are to close

All gatherings of more than two people in public – excluding people you live with – are banned

All social events, including weddings and baptisms are banned

Funerals are not included in the new restrictions

Parks will remain open for exercise but gatherings will be dispersed

Restrictions “under constant review” and will be checked again in three weeks. They will be relaxed “if the evidence shows we are able to”

Although the Parish Council office can sadly not re-open at present, staff and Parish councillors are working behind the scenes setting up a system to help residents who might need practical assistance throughout the coronavirus outbreak. It is important that no-one in our community feels isolated and that residents get the help they need. The Parish council is working alongside a team of volunteers, the Etchingham and Burwash support group and also with Fairfield Surgery. We are putting together a coordinated response that will also ensure the safety of the people we are helping and our volunteers by following the current guidelines. We have already had 9 people contact us to say they need help and 24 volunteers have signed up so far which is a brilliant initial response. A huge thank you to those people putting their hand up to help.

Solutions are being found to help residents who can’t get out with:

picking up prescriptions

shopping

not becoming isolated

The Old Orchard Village Café and store in Burwash Common can deliver food, as can the Village Stores in Burwash. We will have more news on this soon.

Do you need help?

If you need help then make sure you contact us to let us know. You can contact the Parish Clerk, Sylvie Franklin on 07943 848430 : or by email: parishclerk@burwashpc.org.uk

Can you help?

If you are willing to help then we would also love to hear from you. If you are fit and able you might be able to help with collecting prescriptions or doing someone’s shopping. If you are self isolating yourself and have some free time then you can still get involved. Some residents might feel quite isolated over the coming weeks and a friendly phone call can also help people stay connected and offer support.

Please see the attached leaflet for more information about what to do if you need help or can volunteer. This leaflet is being delivered across our community this week.

Official Guidelines regarding coronavirus

We encourage residents to continue to strictly follow government guidelines and to do everything possible to protect themselves and others.

Burwash Parish Council seeks a confident person with an interest in the local community for the post of Parish Clerk/Responsible Finance Officer from April 6th 2020.

The Clerk is responsible for managing the Council’s day to day business, providing advice and implementing decisions.

Applicants will need to be computer literate, able to prepare council agendas and record minutes, be familiar with bookkeeping and financial procedures and be able to correspond with external organisations on behalf of the council.

Working hours are 44/52 hours per month at £15/hour with core hours being two days of 3 hours a week (days and hours to be arranged) in the Parish Office, with some attendance at council and committee meetings which are predominately in the evenings; the remaining hours being worked at either home or in the office. The Clerk would be required to attend the Full Council Meeting, which is on the 2nd Tuesday of every month in the evening, with other committees on an ad hoc basis.

Formal training with a detailed handover and continued help will be available.

How to contact the Parish Council

Opening Hours: The Parish Office is currently CLOSED due to the coronavirus pandemic and staff and councillors are working from home.
You can contact the Clerk on 07375 809 660
Email
Parish Clerk: Emma Neil
parishclerk@burwashpc.org.uk
Administrator: Rachel Guernier adminofficer@burwashpc.org.uk
Web Editor
If you have content for the Burwash Parish Website or App, please email the web editor at info@burwashparish.org.uk